Just as Angelique Harcourt guessed, many of the Swordmaiden contestants managed to get past the first days of the tournaments.

The performance of most Swordmaidens were still within a reasonably competitive range.

​​

In personal combat, the women exhibited both solid dueling capabilities and teamwork when fighting as a group of five.

In mech combat, the Swordmaiden mech pilots possessed less of an edge in skills, but their raw ferocity and abundant combat experience was usually enough for them to push out competitors who were unaccustomed to facing all-out attackers.

Even though this approach backfired on some of the Swordmaidens, the strongest ones all made it through!

A select few Swordmaidens obviously stood out from the rest. Aside from Venerable Dise who wasn't allowed to compete, certain individuals such as Commander Sendra and Ketis exhibited much greater strength and confidence in the personal combat tournaments.

No matter what kind of opponent they faced, they rarely if ever let their opponents push them to the brink!

Whenever a tricky swordsman managed to surprise or gain an advantage, the top Swordmaidens always managed to regain the rhythm in some way.

While Angelique wasn't good enough to take part in the Great Omanderie Festival, she possessed enough vision to tell that these suspicious women were holding back, and not by a little!

Though she was curious to uncover their true strength, it was rude for her to probe. She knew she merely had to wait long enough before these handful of standout elites encountered their real opponents.

As optimistic as she was about the chances of the best-performing Swordmaidens, the seeded competitors from her state were all monsters in their own right!

While the Great Omanderie Festival was one of the few opportunities for foreigners to compete against Heavensworders, it was extremely rare for the latter to reach the finals!

Though there were times when the visitors from another state or star sector gave the seeded competitors a run for their money, these brilliant performances never lasted.

A strong enough foreigner might be able to overcome one seeded contestant. If the chance of victory was only 5 percent, then there were times when the improbable still took place.

The real challenge was doing it all over. The further a foreign contestant progressed in a tournament, the more times they had to win against swordsmen that possessed some of the finest swordsmanship in the star sector!

Therefore, even if Angelique suspected that Commander Sendra may be able to squeeze out a win against the right opponent, there was no way that this would happen over and over!

That said, if any of the Swordmaidens were able to make it this far, they already did better than almost every other foreign participant.

Such a glorious accomplishment always came paired with a huge amount of publicity!

"That's what we're aiming for." Ketis said as she munched on a meat drum. She didn't even bother to swallow her bite while she talked! "Don't get me wrong. I'd love it if I could reach the finals and fight against the best of what your state has to offer, but we came here to accomplish a single goal. Our Swordmaidens are heavily depleted, and we urgently need to replenish our ranks with skilled and dedicated swordswomen."

"Do you think you won't stand a chance against the top 100?"

"I'm trying to do what is best for the Swordmaidens, not my own vanity. While our Swordmaidens would undoubtedly attract more hopefuls if any of us breaks into the top 100, we'll already meet our goal if we can enter the top 1000."

Winning the finals of any tournament was firmly out of right for both foreigners and unseeded contestants. Since the foremost Heavensworders always occupied the top, many spectators became accustomed to using the top 100 and top 1000 as measuring sticks for dark horses and rising stars.

Anyone who made it this far was already good enough to earn respect from the Heavensworders!

Ketis happily gorged herself upon a savory pie as she tried to calculate how many matches she needed to win before she could get to this point.

Ever since the Swordmaidens arrived at the Omanderie System, the guide arranged by Ves took good care of them. Angelique Harcourt not only took care of their schedule, transportation and administration, but also hosted the women in her own villa while providing enough assistance to maintain their competitive edge.

Every contestant had access to doctors, masseurs, consultants, practice partners and other professionals. The Swordmaidens were so unused to working with these people that Angelique had to guide them in person!

As it was, the Swordmaidens were so accustomed to dealing with their issues by themselves that at least half of the hired professionals remained idle!

"I still can't believe that an outfit like yours can stand out from the competition." Angelique shook her head at the total lack of table manners from the only mech designer among the Swordmaidens. "You know what is even more ludicrous to me? The fact that you are one of the strongest Swordmaidens of your group despite being a mech designer!"

Ketis raised her eyebrow as she picked her teeth with her nail. "What's so odd about that? Back where I grew up, if you couldn't fight, you would get beat up until you could finally get in your own punches. Isn't that the case here as well?"

"No! Of course not! Look, I know my way with a épée, but I lack the time to practice my skills further. The best I can do is to maintain them at a decent level so I know what to look out for when I design my fencer mechs. I don't come close enough to being able to overcome contestants in the main tournaments."

"If you aren't happy with your current level of skill, I can give you a few pointers if you like."

"It's not a matter of effort!" Angelique slammed her palm against the table. "While your mech design capabilities are not as good as mine, you are still at the front of the pack given your age. I've never met an Apprentice like you who absorbed so much knowledge yet managed to free up enough time to polish your swordsmanship to duelist level. How do you do it?! What is your secret?!"

Ketis sighed. "There is no easy way to answer this. I guess I'm just too good in both mech design and swordsmanship."

There was no way she could tell the truth to Angelique. This line of questioning was already pushing the line as far as she was concerned.

If not for the fact that she and her fellow Swordmaidens depended on the goodwill of their current host, she would have already given the Journeyman a piece of her mind!

Angelique belatedly realized the impropriety of her questioning. She leaned back in her chair and tried to regain her composure. She stared at the carefully-manicured garden of the backyard of her villa before she opened her mouth again.

"I'm sorry. That was rude of me. You Swordmaidens clearly have a rich history. I can tell that much. I just feel a bit envious of you for being so good in multiple disciplines. You are the only swordsman mech designer I've met who succeeded in having it both ways."

Ketis adopted a modest expression. "I'm not that impressive. While I am proud of what I've managed to achieve, I am nothing compared to the likes of Venerable Dise when it comes to swordsmanship and my mentor when it comes to mech design. They have become so strong in their respective fields that my hopes of catching up to them are slim."

"Then why don't you follow their example?"

"I'm not like them. I'm a Swordmaiden and a mech designer. Holding these two identities at once has already doomed me on this path. As difficult as it is to improve in multiple aspects, I've already received a lot of help. Besides, the design philosophy I'm developing is unmistakingly tied to my personal swordsmanship. They complement each other so that strengthening one will also strengthen the other."

This was not entirely unheard of. Lots of mech designers in the Heavensword Association pursued the same balance. Most of them were never able to put this mutual reinforcement theory to good use because they were just too mediocre in any single field.

The mech market's priorities were clear! The customers would rather pilot from an excellent mech designer with no combat skill than someone who was good with the sword but not as good at mech design!

Mechs had to meet many technical requirements. Second-class mechs were also distinctly more complex than their third-class counterparts, so it became even more important that the mech designers knew how to work with many different mech components.

Gaining all of these proficiencies took time. Lots of time.

Therefore, when mech designers specialized in swordsman mechs faced this dilemma, they decisively chose to abandon their fanciful dream of becoming a swordmaster in order to attain mastery in a much more intellectual pursuit.

Angelique was no different. This was why she almost couldn't accept that a foreigner managed to achieve a successful balance.

Her desire to replicate Ketis' success exceeded her desire to design a collaborative work with Ves!

Ketis could sense her counterpart's continued interest in her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to dampen Angelique's curiosity until she supplied a better answer.

"Look, all I can say is that our Larkinson Clan is stronger and more impressive than you think. My mentor is one of the most amazing mech designers I've ever met. It's not a coincidence that his products are present in any third-rate state. The help he provided to me is unimaginable. In fact, it's so much that I am constantly worried about my ability to pay him back for what he's done."

"I see." Angelique furrowed her brows. "Mr. Larkinson isn't a regular Journeyman, that I know. Maybe I should take my upcoming collaboration with him seriously. I still don't know how to approach this opportunity. Do you have any tips?"

"I've worked with him and under him a number of times, but I don't know how much leeway he'll give you. I think he's open to anything as long as your suggestions don't conflict with his design philosophy. Try and aim to design a more valuable mech that is more sustainable. He loves that. Just design something that lasts."

"Will he.. will he go all out to design our collaborative work? Or do I have to be prepared for him to hold back his best features?"

Ketis crossed her arms. "I can't tell you that. I think it depends on your relationship with him. I think he's pretty sincere though. As long as you aren't rude, I think he will be more than willing to put in his full effort."

"Does that include adding one of his unique glows to our collaborative mechs?" Angelique pressed. "So far, Mr. Larkinson has already designed a number of impressive second-class mechs for specific clients and for internal use, but I can't help but notice that he has yet to bring a second-class product to market. If I insist on a commercial mech design, will he be fine with my choice?"

"A deal is a deal. Ves can be rather.. difficult.. to pin down sometimes. However, as long as he makes a promise, he will uphold his end of the agreement. I think it will help if you make the project interesting to him, though. It will also help if the collaborative project is useful to the Larkinsons as well. Just come up with a mech concept that is compatible with our clan and I bet that Ves will put in his full effort. After all, when it comes to mechs that his own clansmen will be relying on, he will never be stingy."

Angelique frowned. "That means I'll have to design a spaceborn mech, right? That's not my homeground. I'm much more familiar with designing landbound mechs."

"Then you better start preparing. Spaceborn or not, you won't regret collaborating with my mentor."